


Buck 4.0

by AddictedtoFiction03



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck drops a shocker, Buck is smarter than he lets on, Buddie (Relationship), College Talk, Fire Fam - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AddictedtoFiction03/pseuds/AddictedtoFiction03
Summary: Chimney ribs Buck about his college experience until Buck drops a bomb shocking the man. Buck had a 4.0.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Howie "Chimney" Han, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 24
Kudos: 837





	Buck 4.0

**Author's Note:**

> I have this headcanon about our Buckaroo that he is smarter than he lets on.

_Swoosh..._

Buck watched the ball fly through the air until it plummeted through the net, falling until hit the ground. The sound of rubber meeting the pavement sent chills down his back. He loved that sound. He missed that sound. No…Buck missed the game. The game was once his entire life, until that night when it all ended. No...Buck was not going to think about that.

Buck jogged to the rolling ball, swiping it off the ground as he bounded back, throwing the ball into the net once again. This time, Buck caught it with his hands before it could touch the ground. Feeling the heat of the on his neck, Buck wiped away the sweat and walked over to his backpack for a swig of water and to check the time on his phone. The time told him that Buck needed to head back to his place for a shower so he could be fresh for his upcoming shift. He figured that the team wouldn’t appreciate him coming in smelling like a sweaty sock factory. So, he gathered his things and went to find his jeep in the sea of cars in the lot.

An hour later, Buck was making his way into the station, beelining towards his locker to put away his things. There was a strong scent of food in the air, telling him that it was getting close to breakfast time. As he began to climb the stairs to join everyone, Buck could hear the sounds of laughter, telling him that he was home for the next 24 hours. 

Hen is the first one to spot him as she raised her hand to him. “Buckaroo!” she greeted, walking over to him a one-armed hug, and Buck responded by wrapping both his arms around the woman and gave her a twirl. “It’s about time you got here. I was worried that you were going to be late.”

Buck scoffed at her when he put her feet back on the ground. “Me? Late? I haven’t been late in six months, unlike you.” Buck waved to everyone else, going to the coffee pot for some much-needed caffeine. “And the only reason I was late then was because I had a blowout on the freeway.” 

Buck went over to sit at the counter where Bobby was operating the dinner station as usual. Bobby gave him a warm smile as he placed a plate with a piping hot omelet in front of him.

Buck shook his head as he grabbed a fork so he could dig into the delicious treat. He could smell the peppers and onions. “This looks great,” he praised Bobby as he was joined at the counter by Chimney and Eddie. Buck smiled up at his boyfriend, who patted him on the back.

“Why does he get served first?” Chimney complained. “He just got here.”

Buck shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth. “Because I’m the favorite,” he quipped at Chimney.

“Ain’t that the damn truth,” Hen snickered as Bobby handed her the next plate. “I guess that means I’m second?” she joked to Cap.

“Please don’t start fighting over who’s my favorite again,” Bobby sighed, cracking more eggs into a bowl then whipped them with the fork. “I will put everyone in time out again if I have to. I love you all equally.”

“Athena called me last night,” Hen said to Bobby. “She told me how May was freaking out over her grade point average. Did she manage to get her calmed down?”

Bobby shook his head. “That girl is so worried about college,” he sighed. “It took some time, but the night ended with smiles. I think she will be okay. She has great grades, and all of her teachers love her. May’s been looking for letters in the mail, but nothing has arrived yet,” he explained to the team. “Every time she runs out to the mailbox to find it empty, May takes it as she isn’t getting in anywhere.”

“Tell her it’s going to be okay,” Buck said, picking at his eggs. “It’s only January, and most schools don’t send out their letters until March or April. I remember waiting to hear back from my schools. Those few weeks were stressful as hell.”

Hen chuckled at Buck. “Schools? As in plural?”

“Yep.” Buck nodded, feeling a hand settle on his leg. Buck glanced up at see Eddie giving him a proud smile because he already knew this information. “Plural.”

Chimney and Hen shared a glance before turning back to the younger firefighter. “How many schools did you apply to?” Chimney asked, suddenly interested in this new bit of knowledge.

“Six.”

“And how many of them waitlisted you?”

Buck shook his head. “None of them.”

Chimney snickered, picking up his cup. “Figures. They probably saw your grade point average and ran for cover,” he teased before taking a drink.

Buck eyed Chimney for a moment before glancing at his whole team before dropping a bomb that had Chimney choking on his coffee. “Jokes on you, Chim. I had a 4.0.”

Hen had to clap Chimney on the back several times before the man could look Buck in the face. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” Chimney asked.

It was Buck’s turn to snicker and shook his head as the whole team turned silent. “I would, but I might kill you by the time I’m through, and we can’t afford to be a man down today,” he grinned.

Chimney gaped at Buck. “You had a 4.0?” 

Buck nodded proudly. “Sure did. I had to maintain a 4.0 to stay on the basketball team,” Buck explained. “I was even offered a full ride at all six colleges who were _begging_ for me to play for them.”

Bobby turned to his youngest member. “You played ball?” he asked, shocked that he never knew this about Buck.

“Yep,” Buck said, knowing that his response wouldn’t be enough to satisfy their curiosity, now that he had it piqued.

“Which school did you chose?” Hen asked Buck.

“I narrowed my choices down to three and had to choose between Duke, Yale, and Princeton,” Buck continued. “I ended up choosing to play for Princeton.”

Chimney’s eyes grew wide. “You played for Princeton? That’s an ivy league school, Buck.”

“Yep, they all are,” Buck nodded. “I chose to play for Princeton so that I could be closer to Maddie,” he explained. “I already had an idea of what was happening with Doug and didn’t want to be too far away if she ever needed me.”

“You really played basketball?” Bobby asked, wanting to know more. 

“Sure did. I play religiously from the fifth grade until my third year at Princeton,” Buck sighed, thinking about that game that ended it all for him. “I was on my way to the NBA, but I had to quit due to a knee injury.”

Bobby frowned at that. “What happened?” he asked him gently.

Buck pushed a piece of pepper around on his plate. “We were playing Duke,” he began. “I was heading for the goal when one of the players' sideswiped me, causing me to tear my ACL so bad I couldn’t play again, so I had to retire.” Buck trailed off as he thought about the game that ended everything for him, including the toxic relationship with his father. He could remember the last words he ever heard from his father right before he walked out of his hospital room. 

“I guess you didn’t take it well?”

Buck shook his head. “Nope. Not at all. Basketball was my life for a long time, and I didn’t know how to function without it. Three months after I was finished with my PT, I was living in South America before coming here to try for the Navy Seals, which fell flat, and now I’m here with you guys.”

Hen shook her head sadly as Buck, getting up from her seat. She went up behind him, wrapping her arms around him. “I’m so sorry,” she said, laying her head on the top of Buck’s.

Buck shrugged. “Don’t be sorry for me,” he said, patting her arm. “It may seem like I lost a lot, but I really didn’t. All it did was place me on the path to something greater, and what I found through the door of that path is something I will never trade for any trophy or championships.”

“And what did you find?”

“It was this job, and it saved my life in many ways,” Buck said truthfully, and Hen wrapped her arms tighter around him. “Until I came here, all I did was float through time and space, trying to find something to make a living. It all ended in failure until I applied for LAFD, which brought me to you guys, and you guys were the ones that grounded me. It also why I fought so hard to come back here because I couldn’t handle losing anything else.”

Hen lifted her head to look at her teammates. “I think our little Buck is growing up,” she said warmly. “Don’t you think so?” she asked Bobby.

Bobby nodded. “It appears so. Just don’t go making us feel old now,” he quipped to Buck, who shook his head.

  
  


“You two, never,” Buck said, pointing to Hen and Bobby. “But this fool…” Buck moved his finger to Chimney, who was still stuffing his face. “No promises there.”

Bobby, Eddie, and Hen broke down into chuckles as Chimney gave Buck a death stare. “So,” Bobby started. “Does this mean I can add you to the Charity Basketball team? I think we are playing the 122, and we need all the help we can get.”

Buck nodded eagerly. “Hell yeah, I’m in. I am tired of those bastards always claiming the title.” 

Buck and Bobby shared a high five while Hen turned to Eddie. “Did you know all of this?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips with narrowed eyes.

“Sure did,” Eddie responded. “I have known for a while.”

“And you didn’t say anything when they were ribbing him a few weeks back?” Hen asked Eddie.

Eddie shook his head. “It’s not my story to tell. Why do you think Chris loves him so much? You know Chris is obsessed with basketball.”

Hen pointed a finger at Eddie. “You are on my list, boy, and Chris loves Buck because Buck is another father figure to him.”

Eddie snorted. “That’s true.”

Buck nodded. “Chris is my boy,” he agreed as he and Eddie shared a knowing look that prompted Hen to roll her eyes.

“Get a room, you two.”

Chimney looked at everyone before turning to Buck. “Did you really go to Princeton, or are you pulling our legs?” he asked him, earning a glare from the others. 

Buck got out of his seat, gathering the now empty places to put in the sink. “If you don’t believe me, Chim, ask my sister. She can vouch for me.”

Chimney’s eyes lit up at the mention of his girlfriend. “Maddie knows too?”

“She was my sister first,” Buck reminded him, leaning up against the sink. “You should have seen her the day I got my acceptance letter to Harvard.”

“You got accepted into Harvard?!?!?!”

Buck chuckled as all three of these team members look at him with wide eyes full of shock. “Yep, I did.” He started to say more, but the alarm pierced through the station, making everyone jump to their feet, followed by the voice telling them that their assignment was a structure fire. A minute later, everyone was suited up and on their way out of the station with sirens wailing loudly. 

Hours later, when they returned to the station, Buck was shrugging out of his turn out coat when he felt a presence behind him. He turned to see it was Bobby. “Can I help you with something, Cap?” he asked as he placed the coat on his hook.

“You can come help me with dinner after you finish with the trucks,” Bobby replied before placing a hand on his shoulder. “I wanted to tell you that you make me damn proud of the person you have come over the years. You are not only a great firefighter, but you are a great person. You have helped shape this team to become what it is today. Thank you for making my job worth it.”

Buck was floored by the kind words given to him. “Um… Thanks,” Buck smiled softly, trying to hide the emotions swirling in his blue eyes. “So, what’s for dinner?”

“Chili,” Bobby replied as he walked into the locker room. “Just don’t go messing with your eyes after you chop the peppers.”

“That was Chimney,” Buck protested. “I know better than to do something like that. They say it all the time on the Food Network.”

“You watch the Food Network? Are there any more surprises that I need to know about you?”

Buck shook his head. “Nothing worth sharing,” he said as the alarm sounded again. “I guess that chili is going to have to wait. Maybe we should order Chinese when we get back,” he suggested.”

“I like your thinking.”

Buck snickered. “Don’t let Chimney hear you say that. You might give him a heart attack,” he said as they ran for the truck to respond to a medical call. For the second time, the sirens sounded as they flew through the city to the people who needed them, and if Buck were asked to choose his favorite sound this time, it wouldn’t be the rubber.

**Author's Note:**

> hank you to my beta nilshki for your help. Let me know what you think!


End file.
